Monday, March 17, 2014

Test Knit - Speedy Vintage Baby Jacket

A the time I signed up for this test knit, I am 38 weeks 1 day pregnant.  The baby could arrive any day, am I testing fate?  The Speedy Vintage Baby Jacket pattern looked very speedy indeed, and I figured that I would be able to finish it quickly.


Options for the test included 1 strands of super bulky yarn, 2 strands of bulky or 4 strand of worsted.  I had some Brava Worsted remaining from the Very Hungry Caterpillar project, so I thought this would be perfect. I decided to mix Hunter, Tidepool, Wine and Umber Heather together for this cardigan.  I started testing my gauge with 4 strands of worsted weight yarn on size 15 needles.


The size 15 needles gave a gauge of 9 sts/4", which is too tight.  I switched to size 17 needles.  Much better, I hit 8 sts/4"!


At the end of the yoke, the stitch count lines up perfectly.  This is something that is always a pleasure to tell the designer!  The stitch count is also perfect after setting the sleeve stitches aside.  


After knitting the yoke I realized that there are some differences between the instructions and the sample shown at the beginning of the test.  The instructions have you making buttonholes every 8 rounds, which means 2 on the yoke of the smallest size.  The sample, however, appears to have buttons every 4 rounds.  The buttons I have for the sweater are a little small for my buttonholes anyway, so I was considering sewing the buttons on and then adding snaps to the back.  We'll see what happens as the knitting goes forward.  


I knit 18 rounds after setting aside the underarms to measure 5".  I bound off in seed stitch on a WS row for a total of 19 seed stitch rounds.


On the underarms, I picked up an extra stitch on either side of the 2 picked up to decrease to help avoid a hole.  I then knit a total of 16 seed stitch rounds for a total of 4.5" before binding off in seed stitch.  


The cardigan sample showed three buttons above the seed stitch bottom, much closer than the 8 rounds written in the actual pattern.  My 3/4" buttons are a little small for the button holes anyway, so I decided to sew the button holes closed, sew buttons to the top and snaps to the back for a closure.  

This project consumed 57-58 g of each yarn color, ~127 yards.  Final measurements:  9.5" collar to hem; 10" wide when buttoned at hem; 6" wide collar when buttoned;  sleeves 3.5" wide; sleeves 8" long from the cuff to the neck.  

11 day old Lucky, modeling the cardigan on his due date.  

I signed up for the test knit on 10/6.  I started having contractions at 2:30 AM on 10/7.  What was I doing in between contractions?  Finishing the body and knitting most of the first arm.  My baby boy was born 10/8.  Thankfully I was able to complete the project by the testing deadline.  (Interestingly I finished the cardigan on my original due date of 10/19!)